Mountaineer dies as six others rescued

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

Six climbers were rescued from Valla Canyon in Kastamonu as one climber died. A Photo

A Turkish mountain climber died in Valla Canyon in the Black Sea province of Kastamonu on Aug. 19, while his six companions were rescued after a two-day rescue operation.

A group of climbers began trekking in the 12-kilometer-long Valla Canyon on Saturday. The group lost their way and called the emergency number 112 to be rescued. In the call a group member said one of the climbers, Anıl Bakan, was already dead.

The Pınarbaşı Municipality set a crisis management team to rescue the six people. A helicopter approached the determined coordinates but adverse weather conditions did not permit it to land, Pınarbaşı Mayor Mehmet Yılmaz reportedly said.

“Seven aid packages were dropped from the air; they managed to reach three of them,” said Atilla Kantay, deputy governor of Kastamonu, adding that some of the stranded mountaineers were professional and some were not.

“The ICC Canyonic Group” members, Yalçın Akbulut, Füsun Sönmez, Ahmet Yarlıgan, Necla Tatlı, Bayram Sönmez and another whose name was not announced, were rescued by the gendarmerie.

On the other hand the search for Anıl Bakan’s body is ongoing. Some 12 people had been lost in the same canyon two years ago then they were rescued after a 22-hour rescue operation. Valla Canyon is known as one of the largest canyons on earth, 450 kilometers from Istanbul. It begins where Devrekani and Kanlıçay (bloody stream) rivers meet and continues toward Cide for 12 kilometers. The entrance to the canyon is through an extremely difficult route and the canyon walls are 800-1,200 meters high. Valla is in the boundaries of a national park and is open to tourism. The canyon is home to various sorts of birds such as eagles, vultures, hawks and falcons.